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THE 214 Modern European Theater and Drama

This course will examine the history of the European stage, and significant dramatic literature, from 1870 to the present. Emphasis will be placed on an examination of the major theatrical movements of realism, expressionism, symbolism, epic theater, aburdism, and neo-realism, as well as on the work of major dramatists including Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, George Bernard Shaw, August Strindberg, Luigi Pirandello, Bertolt Brecht, and Samuel Beckett, among others. Plays to be studied include An Enemy of the People, Rosmersholm, The Three Sisters, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Pygmalion, Heartbreak House, Miss Julie, A Dybbuk, Six Characters in Search of an Author, The Rules of the Game, The Good Person of Setzuan, Galileo, Waiting for Godot, Krapp’s Last Tape, No Exit, The Visit, Look Back in Anger, Equus, Breaking the Code, Copenhagen, Mister Buffo, and Accidental Death of an Anarchist. The plays will be discussed as instruments for theatrical production; as examples of dramatic style, structure, and genre; and, most importantly, as they reflect the moral, social, and political issues in the 20th century and beyond. This course is offered in the spring semester, 2008-2009 and alternate years.